The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Need new engine source please

I just bought my first vintage pickup, a 1959 Chevy Apache series 31, fleetside. It came with a V8 of some sort obviously a rebuilt with edlebrock manifold and a big carb. I have done some research and I am pretty sure my truck originally had a Thriftmaser 6 in it. I have two questions.
First does anyone know of a source for a Thriftmaster 6, in the crate or almost complete ready to reinstall? And if not where do I look to find a block and parts?
Second, am I stupid to want to put a Thriftmaster 6 back in the truck, in other words was that a decent engine? I want to fix the truck up as stock as possible however I want to have a very reliable driver that I can take out on weekend overnight trips without worrying to much. Thanks for any help you can offer, Al

Welcome to the Stovebolt Page. Are you sure your truck was originally a 6-cylinder? If it was it was a 235. Great little engine - very respected around here. Lots of them still around. Check the swap meet on this site. eBay usually has 235 engines and parts almost anytime. But they are not cheap to rebuild compared to a 350 chevy. Others who know more will probably be along shortly. Good luck!

The 235 "thriftmaster" 6 is a good engine. The v-8 was also an original engine in those trucks. The only difference would be the serial number. The v-8 will be a better choice if you want to use the truck for a reliable driver.

hey 8t8, welcome to the garage! if your truck originally had a V8 then it will have 2 things: a VIN starting w/ a "V", and the front mounts on pads rivetted to the front cross member - if the current V8 has the side mounts on an add-on cross member then it's a later V8 [like 350]

original V8 would have been a 283, great engine, and my preference for real traveling, but the 235 is good too, just less power - red= 283, green= 235

as said, watch the swap section here, and e-bay if you deal with them, and any local buy-n-sell papers in your area as well as auto swap meets, there's lots of 235's around

Bill

If you already have a V-8 and want to go back to a 6, the cheap way out would be to go with a 250 or a 292 which will bolt up to the bellhousing you have now. If you want the 235 you'll need to also get the bellhousing and everything in front of it,
Scott

Hey Wrenchbender, maybe what you meant was that a v-8 might be more suitable in todays traffic? As far as reliability goes, a well kept later 235/261 is probably the most reliable engine ever made. Just my humble yet biased opinion.

Wow thanks to everyone for the help. I am new at these trucks so bear with me. The research I have done all comes from books, I bought everyone I could find, my wife is already getting fed up with the clutter and I haven't even started working on the thing. The VIN number does start with a V however the "nomenclature" plate with the engine and paint codes on it is missing. The hood does not have the widespread "V" behind the bowtie badge and I thought that would mean it didn't originally have a V8 in it.

A good source for older motors is Bishop Engines. They are located in Dallas. I think they will sell and ship complete motors. You might look them up.
Tom